Egypt’s TIBA-1 Military Communication Satellite Ready For launch

Egypt's TIBA-1 Communications Satellite To Be Launched On 22 November
Egypt's TIBA-1 communications satellite launched into space on 26 November 2019. Source: Airbus Defense and Space

In 2014, Egypt President signed an arms deal with the then French President, Francois Hollande reported being worth about USD 1.2 billion.

Part of the deal is the acquisition of a military communication satellite dubbed TIBA-1. The satellite which was developed by Airbus and Thales Alenia Space (TAS) has now left the Airbus Defence and Space clean rooms in Toulouse to French Guiana where it would be launched from Kourou on an Ariane 5, according to a release by Airbus.

Airbus Defence and Space supplied the Eurostar E3000 platform and assembled and tested the spacecraft. TAS, the leading partner, designed and built the communications payload, featuring a dual mission in Ka-band for secure and broadband communications.

TIBA-1, designed to remain in service in orbit for more than 15 years, will have a launch mass of 5,600 kg and an electric power capability of higher than 9 kW. The satellite is scheduled to be launched on November 22 alongside Inmarsat 5 F5 communications satellites.

In a piece of related news, NileSat, Egypt’s leading satellite company is planning to build a new satellite, NileSat 301 and the company confirmed it has received several bids from various contractors. The company is reported to budget USD 300 million for its construction and launch in a bid to augment the company’s current satellite capacities.

This is the third time Egypt will be launching a satellite in the second half of this year after launching NARSSCube-2 in July and NARSScube-1 in September.

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